Ocean City High School Student Wins $500 at Student Music Competition

Ocean City, NJ -- An Ocean City High School student won $500 during the sixth annual Esther Weil Student Music Competition at the Ocean City Music Pier on May 4.

Ocean City High School student Stella Schwartz took second place in the Vocal Division of the competition.

Wildwood Catholic’s Fred Spiewak took first place in the division, bringing home $1,000. Lower Cape May’s Amanda D. Chiaro was third, and won $250.

Winners in the Instrumental Division were as follows:

Instrumental Division

• 1st place: Aidan Seals, Saxophone, Mainland Regional High School, $1,000
• 2nd place: Beth Anne Castellano, Violin, Egg Harbor Twp. High School, $500
• 3rd place: Ryan Gattini, Guitar, Holy Spirit High School, $250
• 4th place: Roberto Steele, Piano, Homeschool, $100

This year’s competition included a record field with 26 students from 10 different high schools and two home-schooled students competing, according to Ocean City officials.

The event is part of the outreach program of the nonprofit Friends of the Ocean City Pops. It is named for Esther C. Weil, a well-known patron of music in Ocean City and Philadelphia.

She was a piano teacher and vocalist.

Weil and her husband, Paul, a former instrumental music teacher at Ocean City High School and instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, promoted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and the Ocean City Pops Orchestra.

Her generous gifts funded the first three years of prize money for this contest.

“We want to congratulate all the students that participated in the contest,” said Robert Snodgrass, competition coordinator. “The talent was truly amazing. The judges had quite a challenge to assess all these wonderful student musicians.”

Judges included Ocean City Pops Artistic Director and Conductor William Scheible; Ocean City Pops Principal Bassoonist Andrea Herr; and retired Mainland Regional High School Choral Director Angel Loffredo.

The Ocean City Pops opens its 88th season on Sunday, June 19, with a concert featuring Deana Martin at 7:30 p.m.. Visit OceanCityPops.org or call the Music Pier Box Office at 609-525-9248 for tickets or information.

The atached images were provided by Ocean City:

Photo captions:

• Standing left to right (1st to 4th place Instrumental Division): Aidan Seals, Mainland High School; Beth Anne Castellano, Egg Harbor Twp. High School; Ryan Gattini, Holy Spirit High School; Roberto Steele, Homeschool. Seated left to right (1st to 3rd place Vocal Division): Fred Spiewak, Wildwood Catholic; Stella Schwartz, Ocean City High School; Amanda D. Chiaro, Lower Cape May Regional High School.
• Vocal Division winner Fred Spiewak

Photo credits: Ocean City High School photography by Odalis Sacramento and Halle DuBruille